Cousins
by Orange Bulldog
Summary: Slight AU in which Tara is Buffy's cousin who comes to live with her in S2. WT of course!
1. Joining the family

Disclaimers:

These are obviously not my characters, I'm just borrowing them from Joss Whedon and anyone else who owns them. Any dialogue from the series also belongs to him. The idea for the Halloween chapter came from Willow's comment about Buffy's costume choice. Slight crossover with Xena there, which of course also does not belong to me.

Basically if I don't mention it, assume anything from the series happened essentially in the same way. I'll mostly include things that change.

Some mentions of previous abuse.

If you have issues with people of the same sex loving each other, or live someplace where that's illegal (in which case, consider moving) please move on.

Pairing: Willow/Tara as well as other canon

Rating: PG-13

Joyce hung up the phone and sighed. She couldn't help feeling that she should have known, should have done something. Grace's family life had always been strained – she had tried unsuccessfully to get her sister to end her marriage, leave Mr. Maclay, but she had never done so. Then six months ago the terrible news had come: Grace had ovarian cancer. By the time it was caught, it had already metastasized and she went downhill fast. Joyce had barely made it in time to say goodbye. She cursed herself for the years spent apart, seeing each other only rarely, always thinking there would be more time.

Now, only two months after Grace's death, Tara had been taken away from her father. The social worker hadn't told Joyce exactly the extent of the abuse, but she had agreed to take the girl in. How anyone could abuse their children was beyond her, especially the angelic, quiet girl that was her niece.

So Tara was now on her way to the airport to fly here. Like her mother, she'd never been out to California to visit, her father was too strict for that. Joyce sighed again, seeing in retrospect the red flags of abuse. She wondered how badly Grace had been abused, as she now had no doubts that it hadn't just been Tara.

Joyce looked at the clock. 2 pm. Tara's plane was landing at 8:20, so she didn't have much time to get ready for the girl's arrival. Buffy would be out of school in a half hour. She shut down her computer, and notified her coworkers that she would be gone for the rest of the day. There wasn't anything urgent today at the gallery anyway.

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"Hey mom, what'cha doing here?" Buffy said, approaching her mom's car. She usually walked home from school.

"I have some news for you. Hello Willow." Joyce smiled at the redhead with her daughter. She liked the shy girl, and she seemed like a much better influence than Buffy's old friends.

"Hi Mrs. Summers." Willow smiled back. "I'll see you later okay Buff?"

"Yeah, I'll call you. Bye!"

Buffy got in the car. "What's up?"

"Your cousin Tara is coming to live with us." She looked at her daughter to see the reaction. Thankfully, it was rather neutral.

"Why?"  
"Social Services has taken her away from her father, and we're her closest relatives."

Buffy's eyes went wide. "Taken her away? You mean like cuz he hit her or something?"

Joyce nodded silently.

Buffy's fists clenched. "I knew there was something not right with him. How could he hit Tara? She's so nice! Weird, but nice!"

"People don't abuse their children because they deserve it, they just do it. In any case, she probably won't want to talk about it, so don't push her."

"When's she coming?"  
"Tonight. Her plane lands at 8:20. I thought we could spend the afternoon getting some things for her, getting the spare room ready to move into."

"Oh wow, that soon. Well, I mean it is Friday, I was going to…." She trailed off, seeing the look on her mom's face. "Sure, okay."

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By 8pm they had just finished preparing. They'd moved everything out of the spare room, bought a bed and dresser from Ikea, moved that in, made the bed with a pair of spare sheets, and Buffy had even cleaned out part of her bathroom for her cousin's things. With a shower and change of clothes, they were ready to head to the airport.

"Whew! Just in time!" Joyce said as they pulled into the parking lot. It was 8:18.

It turned out not to matter, since the plane was 45 minutes late, but finally the passengers started streaming out. Tara was one of the last off the plane, walking with her head hung over and a backpack on her back.

"Tara! Over here!" Buffy chirped. The girl looked up and over at her relatives with big eyes.

"Hi Aunt Joyce. Hi Buffy." She said quietly.

"Do you have luggage?" Joyce asked, after hugging her slightly awkwardly.

Tara nodded. "One suitcase. The r-rest is in b-boxes coming later."

"Okay, we'll go get that, and then head home. Are you hungry? We haven't eaten yet."

"Me neither. Just the p-peanuts on the plane."

"Okay then, we'll get dinner on the way."

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Two hours later, Tara sat on the bed thinking about the whirlwind day she had just had. She had been overwhelmed with people, and though it was nice to see family instead of all the strangers asking her questions at the social services, she didn't know her aunt and cousin very well, and she was still shy around them. Finally they'd stopped talking and left her alone in her room to unpack and go to bed. On Monday she'd have to go start at a new school, and meet new people, but for tonight she just relaxed in the knowledge that she didn't have to deal with her father any longer.

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"Well, I hope you won't be as much trouble as your cousin." Principal Snyder said snippily, printing out a schedule for Tara.

"Oh n-n-no sir, I won't be any trouble at all." Tara said with wide eyes. She wondered what Buffy had done. She looked at her aunt, who didn't refute it, as she wasn't really sure what Buffy was supposed to have done now.

The principal turned to Joyce. "By the way, I'm looking forward to speaking with you at Parent-Teacher night next week. Unfortunately I have a meeting in five minutes or we could talk now." Joyce's face tightened, worried about what her daughter was up to.

"Here you go. Welcome to Sunnydale High." He said, standing up and making it clear he was finished with them.

"Don't forget, find Buffy at lunch okay? She'll help you make new friends." Joyce instructed her niece, hugging her. A bell rang shrilly, and teenagers started pouring out of the classroom doors.

"I guess that's the end of first period, so you can just go to second. I'll see you after school." Joyce said brightly before leaving.

Tara stood staring at all the kids in the hall. This school was much bigger than her school, which had been a tiny school in a tiny rural town. She looked at the map in her hand and made her way to her second period class.

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By lunchtime, Tara was starting to get the feel of her new school, and trying desperately to blend into the walls. Luckily most of the kids ignored her. She walked into the lunchroom and looked around. Buffy was sitting in the middle of the room with a tall boy and a redheaded girl. Just then the girl looked over and they locked eyes. To Tara it was as if the world stood still. The girl was the most beautiful person she had ever seen. And something in her gaze made Tara feel like she was looking into her soul. All too soon the moment was broken.

"Will, what are you looking at?" Buffy followed her best friend's gaze. "Oh hey, Tara! Tara, over here!" she said loudly, noticing her cousin.

Tara was torn out of her reverie, hearing her name called. She made her way to the table, hugging her arms to her chest.

"Hi Buffy." She said quietly.

"Tara, these are my friends Willow and Xander. You go get some lunch and come join us okay?" Tara just nodded, trying not to stare at the girl. Willow. Her name was Willow.

"That's your cousin?" Willow asked, watching her walk away. "Cool!" She didn't explain why she thought it was cool. She couldn't really articulate it to herself, but she felt a pull to the blonde girl and was glad she'd be spending time with her. "Is she going to be a Scooby too?"

Buffy's eyes went wide. "I hadn't thought about it. I guess it would be easier if she knew, huh. It's hard enough hiding it from my mom."

"Yeah but how are you gonna tell her?" Xander said, crunching an apple.

"Come on, if she hangs out with us at all she'll see something suspicious. Even Cordy knows." Willow put in.

"True but look where that got her, last week she was almost killed for her head, remember?" Buffy pointed out.

"That wasn't because of you. But it was the reason we saved her and she is still here." Willow said quickly, wanting to make sure that Tara became part of the Scoobies.

"Good point. Okay here she comes, be nice guys, she's really shy."

Tara's heart pounded as she approached the table. She wasn't used to eating lunch with people. At her old school she always ate alone. Besides that, Willow was having an interesting effect on her. Despite that, she sat down next to the redhead.

"Hi Tara, I'm Willow. Buffy said you're shy, that's cool, me too, well more nerdy than shy but shy too…did I mention I tend to babble a lot? From the shyness, I think, since it gets worse when I'm nervous."

"Or there's just too much going on in your head. That's my theory." Xander put in, trying to stop his friend.

Tara smiled hesitantly. "I d-don't mind, at least it's better than s-stuttering." She said. God how pathetic, I can't even say stuttering without stuttering!

"Oh, don't worry, I barely noticed!" Willow said, patting Tara's hand. The girls' eyes met again and they shared another long look.

"I know, I know, worst night of the year I always say." Willow heard Xander say.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Parent Teacher night. Buffy was just saying how worried she is about what they're going to say about her."

"Especially Snyder." Willow said sympathetically. "I'm not worried, my parents don't really care about what the principal says as long as the teachers say good things."

"Well yeah but I'm not brainy girl like you, the teachers aren't going to say good things either!" Buffy lamented.

"Hey but now your mom will have to spend half of her time talking to Tara's teachers. Less time to talk to yours!" Xander pointed out, then frowned. "You're not in our classes, right?" he asked the newcomer.

Tara shook her head as Buffy brightened. "No, she's a senior. That's right, good point Xand!"

"You're a senior?" Willow asked. "Are you applying to colleges yet?"

Tara looked down at her food. "Um, my father wouldn't…and I don't have any m-money…"

"Well he let you come live with Buffy's family right? I'm sure he'd let you go to college. And I bet that you could get aid, I'll help you look! I've already done lots of research on schools." Willow said excitedly.

Tara looked over at Buffy, who was busy looking everywhere else.

"Y-you didn't tell them why I'm h-here?" she said in amazement.

"You're here because it's better for you to be here. I didn't think you'd want it broadcast around school exactly why." Her cousin said quietly. "Besides, I hadn't even heard it from you yet, just what my mom told me."

Willow and Xander looked at each other.

Tara was impressed that her cousin had done that for her, but she didn't want to start off what she hoped would be friendships on a lie. "He h-hit me. A lot. Until I told a teacher, and they t-took me away. I had to leave, I had to." She stumbled over the words, as if still trying to convince herself, and said the whole thing staring at her lap.

Willow's eyes went wide. Sure, her parents left a lot to be desired, but they would never physically hurt her.  
"Hey, of course you did, nobody thinks you should have stayed." She put her hand on Tara's again, and this time left it there. "We're glad you came." Her eyes went wide. "I mean, not glad that that happened to you, no siree, but glad that you left and that you are going to be our friend!"

Tara looked up. "Your f-friend?"

"Well of course silly, you're definitely going to be a Scooby!"

Just then the lunch bell rang, cutting off Tara's unspoken question of what a Scooby was.

"Oh, boo, class time." Buffy pouted. "Don't you just hate the class part of school, Tara?"

"A-actually I like classes." Tara said, ducking her head and hiding her face again.

"Me too! What do you have now?" Willow walked off with Tara without a glance back at her other friends.

"Uh-oh, looks like Will found a new nerd friend, and now we're going to fail all our classes again as she forgets all about us." Xander quipped.

"Well, I'm glad Tara's found a friend so soon. She's so shy!" Buffy said.


	2. ParentTeacher Night

"Snyder's got you guys making party favors huh." Xander said to the sulking slayer.

"His two worst students. That's what mom sees when she looks at me. A Sheila." Buffy whined. Sheila was busy making out with her boyfriend, a scary looking older man with long hair.

"Well, Sheila's definitely intense. That's the guy she can bring home to mother." Xander quipped, watching her.

"She was already smoking in fifth grade. Once I was lookout for her." Willow said proudly.

"You're bad to the bone." Xander commented.

"I'm a rebel." She said to Tara, who giggled. Thinking of Willow as a rebel was just too funny.

"It's not fair. I'm the Slayer. That requires a certain amount of cutting and fighting. What's Sheila's excuse?" Buffy complained.

"Homework. She won't do it. And most teachers respect that now." Xander joked. "Oh, you might wanna keep away any sharp implements when you're working with her."

"Do you think any other Slayers ever had to go to high school?" Buffy continued griping.

"It's no biggie. You'll have a nice soiree. The parents will love it. As long as nothing really bad happens between now and then, you'll be fine."

"Are you crazy? What did you say that for? Now something bad is gonna happen!" Buffy wailed.

"Whadaya mean? Nothing's gonna happen." Xander asked in confusion.

"Not until some dummy says, 'as long as nothing bad happens.'" Willow said with a scowl.

"It's the ultimate jinx!" Buffy said.

"Like Murphy's law." Tara added in.

"What were you thinking? Or were you even thinking at all?" Willow continued. She rolled her eyes at Xander, linked arms with Tara and Buffy, and walked off.

"Well, you guys don't know. Maybe this time it'll be different." Xander said, trying to keep up with them. This is what he got for hanging out with all girls.

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A few days later, the gang was at the Bronze. Willow and Tara were trying to help Buffy with her French homework, but it wasn't going so well. Xander was dancing lamely by himself, but he came over to drag the girls out to the dance floor.

"Guys, I'm all alone out there. Somebody has to dance with me."

"Well, we are studying." Willow pointed out.

"Tara isn't in your French class. She doesn't need to study."

"Uh, I'm not…I mean I don't.." she looked at Willow to save her.

But Buffy beat her to it. "Come on, one dance."

"Buffy, we have to…"

"Come on." She pulled Willow and Tara out with her.

Buffy and Xander started dancing, and Willow even looked like she was having fun, though her version of dancing didn't involve much moving. Tara on the other hand, looked terrified.

"What's the matter? You don't like to dance?"

Tara shook her head. "I don't know how."

"Oh, it's easy, just move to the music." She tentatively took Tara's hands and tried to help her move. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that she was making her friend even more uncomfortable, as her nervousness increased when the redhead touched her.

Luckily for Tara, they had only been dancing for a few minutes when a bleach-blonde man near them said loudly, "Where's the phone? I need to call the police. There's some big guy out there trying to bite somebody."

Buffy immediately ran outside. Willow and Xander followed, forgetting that Tara would have no idea what was going on. She of course followed her friends outside, to find Buffy beating up a weird-looking man. The slayer looked back at her friends.

"Get her out of here!" she yelled, indicating the terrified woman the vamp had been about to bite. Willow grabbed her and pulled her out of the way.

"And a stake would be nice!" Buffy yelled.

Xander ran inside.

Once she had gotten the near-victim to leave, Willow turned her attention to the shocked girl still standing near the wall.

"Sh-should we help her?" Tara asked as the redhead came over.

"Xander's getting a stake. We'd only get in the way if we tried to fight, with only one vampire." She waited to see what her friend's reaction to the word vamp would be.

"That's a v-vampire?"

The vamp spun Buffy to the ground and leaned over her.

"I don't need to wait for St. Vigeous. You're mine." He growled. Buffy kicked him in the face and jumped up.

"Spike! Gimme a hand!" the vamp yelled.

Just then Xander ran back out. "Buffy!" he yelled. He threw the stake at her. She grabbed it out of the air and staked the vampire.

The blond man from inside came walking out of the shadows. "Nice work love."

"Who are you?" Buffy asked.

"You'll find out on Saturday."

"What happens on Saturday?"

"I kill you." He said as he walked away.

Back in the library, they tried to focus on research while explaining to Tara the ins and outs of Scooby life and vampires. Amazingly, the blonde newcomer was taking it rather well.

"We can't run, that would be wrong. Could we hide? I mean, if that Spike guy is leading the attack….. yehehehe." Willow shuddered.

"He's, he's worse than normal v-vampires?" Tara wrapped her arms around herself.

"He can't be much worse." Giles put in.

"He's worse." Angel disagreed, stepping into the library.

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Parent-Teacher night came too soon for Buffy, especially since Sheila had disappeared, leaving her all the work. Giles' constant worrying about the night of St. Vigeous wasn't helping. Luckily she had Willow, Tara, and Xander to help her. Even Cordelia helped out, making stakes. And with Willow and Tara as her tour guides, Joyce only managed to see Tara's teachers, who of course had good things to say about their student of a week. Buffy was standing near the refreshments with Willow and Tara, and had almost started to relax, when Spike showed up.

Willow's first thought as the fighting began was Tara's safety. She locked eyes with the blonde and they ran out of the lounge. A vampire grabbed Tara and she screamed. Willow felt her heart leap and she grabbed a statue and screamed at the vamp.

"Hey!" she swung the statue into his head as he turned to look at her, and he let go of Tara.

She grabbed Tara's hand, and pulled her into a closet.

She shut the door and looked up at the girl standing close to her, trying to slow her breathing down.

"You have to know when to run and hide. Sometimes we help with the fighting, but mostly it's more with the running." She whispered to the newest Scooby, who just nodded.

"Hey, are you okay? I know it's a lot to take in." she continued, reaching her free hand up to brush Tara's hair behind her ear.

Tara felt a shudder go through her body that had nothing to do with fear. Willow was still holding her hand, and their bodies were so close she could feel the heat from the redhead's slender frame.

She breathed in a raggedy breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just not used to all this danger." She met Willow's eyes and managed a lopsided smile.

Willow smiled back despite the danger. Tara was so beautiful when she smiled. She pushed the feelings of confusion that particular realization caused off for later.

"I think we're safe here." She whispered, leaning in close to Tara's ear so she could hear better.

"I feel safe with you." Tara said in an even quieter voice, following Willow's lead. She was amazed at her boldness, and realized her thumb was stroking the back of Willow's hand, apparently subconsciously. She almost panicked until she realized Willow had no intention of letting go. Could it be that Willow returned her feelings?

"Oh, no, I'm not the one to feel safe around, that's Buffy, like I said I'm just research girl most of the time. I'm nothing special." She shook her head slightly, her long red hair swinging.

"No, you are." Tara said with conviction. She blushed. "I mean, research is important, and, and you saved me back there, that wasn't research."

Now it was Willow's turn to blush. "Oh, that, well….I had to save you, I didn't even think about it."

Tara just smiled. "Thanks." Willow smiled back.

The girls stood in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their thoughts. Willow's attention was focused on her hand and the amazingly wonderful feeling Tara's thumb was causing. Tara was allowing herself to completely accept the fact that she was attracted to her friend, and therefore certainly to women. She found it hard to not be okay with that when such a beautiful woman was holding her hand.

"You think he's gone?" Tara whispered, pulling Willow out of her drifting thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, Spike…I don't know, he could come back. We should definitely stay in the closet." She bobbed her head up and down.

Tara had done enough reading about being gay to find that funny, and a giggle escaped her throat despite herself.

Willow's brow wrinkled. "What's so funny?"

Tara got a deer-in-the-headlights look and tried frantically to backpedal. "Oh, uh, it's uh…" she couldn't think of anything. Luckily for her Willow was distracted by a sound from the hallway. She pressed her finger over Tara's lips, silencing her not only with the motion but unknowingly with the distraction that caused Tara.

"Did you hear that?" she hissed into Tara's ear.

Wide-eyed, Tara shook her head.

"I think someone's out there. I hope it wasn't another vampire! Or, the same one, cuz Spike was scary. Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to shush you." She realized her finger was still on Tara's mouth and removed it in embarrassment.

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"Honey, where's Tara?" Joyce asked her daughter. Now that all of the commotion had died down and those gang members disappeared, she remembered her other teenager.

Buffy's eyes went wide. "Oh god, I haven't seen her since the va- I mean, the fighting started. I hope Willow took her somewhere safe."

"Should we go look for them?"

"Oh. Yeah probably." Buffy took off running into the school.

Joyce sighed. "What does she think the meaning of the word we is?"

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"Willow! Tara! Where are you guys, it's safe to come out now!" Buffy yelled, running through the halls. Suddenly a door opened right in front of her and she slammed into it.

"Oh no, are you okay Buffy?" Willow asked in concern, peering down at her friend.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine, I make it through a fight with a bunch of vamps and then my best friend almost takes me out with a door." The slayer said, sitting up and rubbing her forehead.

Willow reached down to help Buffy up, knowing she'd be fine. "Did you get them all?"

"Nah, I got most of the minions but Spike got away." She scowled.


	3. First Kiss

"Hey, look, boxes!" Willow said. She and Tara had come home to study at Tara's house. The blonde had been in Sunnydale for less than two weeks but already she and Willow were inseparable.

"Oh, wow, I was wondering when they'd get here." Tara said as she unlocked the door.

"Hey I'll help you unpack." Willow picked up one of the boxes and started inside. "Whew, good thing I help Buffy fight sometimes. These are heavy!" she panted as they walked up the stairs.

Tara just smiled. "I, I think you got the one with the books." She confessed.

Willow opened her mouth in mock outrage. "You stuck me with the books?"

Tara giggled as they put the boxes down. "Uh huh. I think I have another heavy one downstairs, why don't you go get it?" she teased.

"Oh, you are in so much trouble!" Willow said, advancing on her friend until she was within range. Tara's eyes widened. Willow pounced and began tickling the senior mercilessly. Tara unfortunately was incredibly ticklish, a fact which Willow took advantage of. She collapsed on the floor, convulsing in shrieking laughter. The redhead just grinned and kept tickling. She rolled Tara over on her back and climbed on top of her, pinning her down with her slight weight. The tickling continued until Willow relented and allowed Tara to grab her hands. They stared into each other's eyes, holding hands and breathing heavily from the exertion. All too soon they both panicked and moved at once.

"Better go get the rest of those boxes." Willow mumbled, quickly getting off of her friend.

"Yeah, um, I'll get the other heavy ones." Tara said with a shy smile.

"No way! What's the point in being strong if you don't get to show off for pretty girls?" Willow asked, the words slipping out before she knew what she was saying. When her brain processed them, she blushed beet red and turned to hide it. "Come on, sooner we get them upstairs, sooner you're unpacked."

It took the older girl a minute for her brain to catch up, but she quickly followed Willow down the stairs.

When all the boxes were in Tara's room, they eagerly started unpacking. The rest of Tara's clothes, as well as the books in the first box Willow had lugged upstairs, were quickly in place. Willow opened the next box and stared into it. Tara turned around from where she was hanging the last of her skirts and almost panicked, realizing what was in that box. She rushed over.

"Um, that's um, not what it looks like…"

"It's not magic stuff?" Willow asked calmly. "Then what is it?"

"Er…" Tara tried to come up with a reason for having various herbs, books with names like "The Art of Reading Auras" and "A Brief Guide to Gods and Goddesses."

"Are you a witch?" Willow asked, awe apparent on her face.

"A g-good one, I p-promise." She answered shakily.

"Of course! You could never be evil, I know that." Willow said matter-of-factly.

"It doesn't f-freak you out? I mean that magic is real?" she said in amazement.

Willow just smiled at her. "Hello, vampires much? I know magic is real. Giles does magic sometimes too, he won't teach me though, he says it's too dangerous, it's hard to only do the good parts." She said wistfully. Then her eyes brightened. "Will you teach me?"

"M-me?"

"Well yeah! Who better to learn from?"

"Oh, I'm n-nothing special."

"Phooey. Please?" Willow turned her resolve face on, which Tara couldn't resist. She grinned.

"Of course I'll teach you."

Willow's eyes lit up and she launched herself at Tara.

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you!" she hugged her friend and now teacher tightly. Tara smiled as she hugged her back.

"I'll be the best student ever, you'll see! You can even give me homework! I promise, you won't be disappointed!"

"I could never be disappointed in you." Tara said softly as they pulled away slightly.

The mood grew suddenly serious as the girls stared at each other from a close distance. Tara tried in vain to control her breathing, which was getting faster. She was sure Willow could hear her heart beating. She didn't know how, but she felt her head moving back towards Willow's. She was afraid to close her eyes in case Willow wasn't feeling the same. Only when their lips met did she close her eyes, relaxing into the feel of her first kiss. Willow's lips were softer than she could have imagined. They parted, both out of breath from the lack of oxygen and the nervousness.

"Wow." Willow breathed, her eyes still closed.

Tara smiled. "Yeah."

Willow opened her eyes. "I didn't think that was ever going to happen." She brushed her companion's hair out of her eyes. Tara briefly closed her eyes again in pleasure as she felt Willow's hand on her face.

"So…" Willow said, unsure of what to do or say.

"Oh, sorry." Tara pulled back uncertainly, suddenly nervous.

"Hey, hey. Did I do something?"

Tara looked up. "No, no, of course not, I just thought m-maybe I did."

Willow closed the gap between them and placed a gentle kiss on Tara's lips. "Never." She whispered.


	4. Halloween

The next few weeks flew by for the gang. Willow and Tara were getting more comfortable in their relationship. They were still hiding it from their friends and at school, but they couldn't help but touch each other a lot and just hope nobody thought it was weird.

"Guess who." Tara felt slender, slightly cold fingers over her eyes. She grinned. "Um, I don't know, is it Xander?"

The person giggled. "Nope. Guess again."

"Cordelia?" Even Tara had to laugh at herself at that. She grabbed the fingers and spun around.

"Willow." She smiled. "That was going to be my third guess." She giggled.

"Silly. Hey, have you decided what you want to be for Halloween?" Willow opened up the locker that she was sharing with Tara, the blonde getting there too late to get her own.

"H-halloween?"

"Yeah, you know, silly holiday at the end of October? We all dress up as monsters and things and little kids walk around and get candy?"

"Um, I haven't ever really done Halloween. M-my dad said it was stupid and p-pagan. Besides, shouldn't we be out watching for vamps and things? Halloween is supposed to be their night right? I, I mean more than other nights?" Tara tried to gloss over the no-Halloween statement, but she knew her girlfriend was going to catch it anyway.

"Actually that's not a problem." Buffy had just walked up. Tara and Willow turned around. "The baddies all stay in on Halloween."

"Why?" Willow asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Dunno. Giles didn't explain that part yet."

Willow turned her attention to her girlfriend. "You really haven't ever gotten dressed up for Halloween? Or gone trick-or-treating?" she asked in astonishment.

Tara shook her head.

"Well, you're going this year." Buffy announced. "Snyder conned us into being babysitters for little kids. What do you say we all go to that new costume shop after school to get costumes?"

Tara looked at Willow, who sheepishly looked at her shoes.

"I was gonna tell you in a minute, I swear."

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At the costume shop, the gang was having trouble finding costumes.

"Okay, I got mine." Willow held up a ghost costume.

"What'd you get?" Buffy turned to see.

"A time-honored classic!" she held it up.

"Okay, Will, can I give you a little friendly advice?"

"It's not spooky enough?"

"It's just…you're never gonna get noticed if you keep hiding. You're missing the whole point of Halloween." She tried to explain to her shy friend.

Willow smiled nervously. "Free candy?"

"It's come as you aren't night. The perfect chance for a girl to get sexy and wild with no repercussions."

Willow blushed. "Oh, I don't get wild. Wild on me equals spaz."

"Don't underestimate yourself. You've got it in you. Don't you think Tara?"

Tara looked shyly at her girlfriend. "I-I think she's right Willow. I think you'd look good in something s-sexy and wild." She blushed.

"See? She agrees with me. I'll find you something."

Willow glared at Tara, not believing that she'd agreed with Buffy. At least out loud. Tara just kept blushing, not really sure how she had either.

"Hey, Xander!" Willow tried to change the topic. He came over. "What'd you get?"

He held up a toy gun.

"That's not a costume." Buffy protested.

"I got fatigues at home. Call me the two-dollar costume king, baby!"

Buffy suddenly got distracted by a costume a short distance away.

"Wow, look at this."

"It's amazing." Willow agreed. It was an 18th century ball gown, like the ones in the pictures of women in Angel's time the girls had looked at in the Watcher's diaries earlier that day.

"Too bulky. I prefer my women in spandex." Xander disagreed, which earned him dirty looks from all three of his friends.

They left the costume shop a short time later, Willow having been convinced to get a Xena: Warrior Princess costume complete with black wig, and Buffy having bought the gown.

"I can't believe we couldn't find a costume you liked there." Buffy grumbled. Tara had tried to get the ghost costume after insisting that Willow not do so, and after her girlfriend had put her foot down on that, she hadn't found anything else she liked.

"Hey come on, it's her first Halloween okay? She has to have the perfect costume. We can stop by Partytown on the way home." Willow stuck up for her.

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"Are you sure this is such a good idea?" Willow's voice came from the bathroom.

"Willow, come out. You can't hide in there all night." Buffy said.

"Besides, yours covers your stomach at least!" Tara said, trying to cover up her bare midriff. Partytown had had not only a Xena costume, but a Gabrielle one as well. When they'd seen it, it just seemed right. Unfortunately for Tara, it was essentially a green cloth bra, a short skirt, and boots. She hadn't needed a wig.

"You look great Tara. And I'm sure Willow does too!" she said loudly for the redhead's benefit. Willow sheepishly came out of the bathroom. Her eyes widened as she took in the exposed body of her girlfriend. Tara blushed, but it didn't keep her from checking out Willow's leather clad body.

Buffy whistled at her best friend. "Hoo boy are you gonna stun the boys tonight. Both of you."

Willow and Tara shared a guilty look, but Buffy took it as shyness. "I mean it. Oh, I think that's Xander." Buffy went downstairs to get the door.

"You really do look awesome." Willow said.

Tara blushed. "Not half as awesome as you, I'm sure." She braved a quick kiss before they headed down to meet their friends.

Xander was saying "I completely renounce spandex." Willow giggled at the top of the stairs.

"Thank you kind sir. But wait till you see…"

"Willow!" Xander finished Buffy's sentence. "Wow, I guess I don't renounce leather."

Willow blushed again. Tara sheepishly followed her girlfriend downstairs.

"And Tara! Whoa look at me, surrounded by babes!" Xander puffed out his chest.

Willow rolled her eyes and took Tara's arm. "Come on, we're gonna be late."

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Willow and Tara walked their group of kids around. Snyder hadn't roped Tara in so she was just tagging along with her girlfriend. Besides, their costumes were too good together to break up.

"Trick or Treat!" the kids yelled as an older woman answered the door.

"Oh my goodness, aren't you adorable." She cooed, and started handing out candy.

Something strange came over the group.

"Oh dear, am I all out? I could have sworn I had more candy." The lady apologized.

One of the kids, who was wearing a red demon mask, morphed into an actual demon. The woman bent over to apologize to him.

"I'm sorry mister monster. Maybe I…"

She didn't finish, because another kid, this one with a green mask, had also morphed into a real demon and started attacking her. All of the kids except the red demon ran away screaming. The red demon kid attacked the green one, who let go of the woman, allowing her to escape.

Tara watched horrified. She turned to her girlfriend, but she seemed strange too, looking around as if she had no idea where she was.

"Hey! Stop it!" she tried to break up the fight. The kids ignored her, and ran off into the night.

"Will? What's up?"

Willow stared at her. "Who's Will?"

"Um, you are." Tara suddenly got more worried, but Willow just laughed.

"Are you okay Gabrielle? Did you eat something strange?"

"G-gabrielle?"   
"What, did you forget your own name too?"

"Honey, this isn't funny." Tara insisted.

"What? I'm not trying to be funny Gab."

Tara rubbed her temples. "This is not good."

Willow looked around. "I agree. Where are we? This place is very strange." Just then a group of demon children ran past. Her eyes widened. "What are those?" she started to follow them.

"Willow!" Tara yelled as she followed. But she paid no attention. "Um, Xena?" she tried. Immediately she stopped.

"Oh good, you remembered my name."

"We have to find Buffy."

"Who's Buffy?"

"Well, she's the leader, the slayer. She'll know what to do." Tara was sure.

Before 'Xena' could ask what a slayer was, they heard gunfire.

"Xander!" Tara yelled, running after him. He spun around and pointed his gun at her.

"Xander, it's me, Tara."

"I don't know any Tara."

"What are you pointing at her? You point a weapon at my Gab and you get a fight with me for free." 'Xena' growled, kicking the gun out of his hands deftly.

"You want to fight me, woman?"

"Stop!" Tara yelled. "Look, you have to trust me. Something weird has happened. Somehow you turned into your costumes."

'Xena' looked down. "What costume?"

"You were dressed as Xena for Halloween. And Xander, you were a soldier."

"You expect us to believe that?" Xander asked skeptically.

"No, probably not. But we have to find Buffy, and you two need to not fight until we do."

"Why should I trust you?" Xander asked.

"Because that guy just took your gun" she pointed at a man who was indeed running away with his gun "and trust me, Xena will take you any day."

'Xena' grinned smugly.

"And you – you are going to trust me because I'm Gabrielle."

'Xena' pulled her behind a tree to get away from Xander for a minute.

"I don't know, you are acting quite strange Gab. Maybe you aren't even my best friend. You didn't recognize me at first, and you were just talking nonsense. We've met doubles of ourselves before, how do I know you're not one of them?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"How do you expect me to prove it to you?" Tara was worried, she didn't actually know how Xena thought Gabrielle would act.

She thought a moment, before unexpectedly leaning in and kissing Tara passionately. For a second Tara was stunned, but her body naturally kissed back, since it was really Willow under that costume.

They parted, and 'Xena' smiled. "Okay Gab, but after this is all over you have to explain to me what in Hades is going on."

"Deal." She agreed with a grin. She'd also just won a bet with Buffy about whether or not the warrior princess and her bard friend were more than just friends.

"Okay, then we just need to find…Buffy!" she saw her across the street and ran over to her, followed by Willow and Xander.

Just then two monster kids ran up. Xander pulled out a smaller gun and pointed it at them. "This could be a situation."

"Buffy, what do we do?" Tara asked frantically.

Buffy fainted.

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"Uh oh, I don't think she's Buffy."

Buffy sat up with 'Xena's' help. "Who's Buffy?"

"Great. You probably think you're from 1750 or something don't you?"

"1775. I-I don't understand. Who are you?"

"I'm your cousin."

"No you are not. I know all of my cousins and you are not one."

"A very distant one. We're more like friends. All of us, we're friends."

"Y-Your dress…Everything is strange! How did I come to be here?"

"That's a good question." 'Xena' asked, glaring at 'Gabrielle.'

A monster came around the side of the tree and roared. Buffy screamed.

Luckily, 'Xena' took it out with a powerful roundhouse kick.

Xander said "I suggest we get inside before we come across anything…."

Buffy interrupted him by screaming "A DEMON! A DEMON!" and hiding behind Xander.

"Typical, I'm the one saving us and she gets behind the man even though he has no apparent skills and just that silly looking weapon." 'Xena' complained, running toward the 'demon' that was actually a car.

"Aiyiyiyiyiyiy!" she screamed as she got close, launching into a flip and landing on the roof of the car.

"Wi- I mean, Xena! That's not a demon, it's a car!" Tara took off after her.

"What does it want?" Buffy asked. 'Xena' had jumped off when 'Gabrielle' told her not to attack it, but she was glaring at it as it disappeared around the corner.

"Are these women insane?" Xander asked.

"They've never seen a car." Tara tried to explain.

"Never seen a car?"

"It's a long story…"

"I just want you to know I'm taking a lot on faith here. Now, where do we go?" he asked.

Tara thought. "I think our house is closest. Let's go."

'Xena' put her arm around her shoulders as they walked to the house.

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They had only been in the house a short time when a noise was heard from outside. Xander aimed his little gun out the window.

"What did I say about shooting people?" Tara said desperately.

He shot out the window anyway. "Big noise scare monster, remember?" He explained.

Tara ignored him. They heard a scream outside. Xander moved to go investigate, but 'Xena' stopped him by shoving him down on the floor. "Stay." And she was gone.

A minute later she re-emerged with Cordelia over her shoulder.

"Willow! What the hell is wrong with you?" she was shrieking.

"Honey, put the nice woman down okay?" Tara pleaded.

She did so. "It was the easiest way to get her inside."

Tara looked at Cordelia. "Wait, you know who she is?"

"Duh! Have you all lost your minds? Why wouldn't I know Willow? Even when she is acting like a lunatic."

"Oh thank goodness."

"What's with them?"

"A lot's going on." Tara didn't feel like explaining.

"No kidding. I was just attacked by Jo-Jo, the Dog-Faced Boy. Look at my costume!" the sleeve was torn. "Do you really think that Partytown's gonna give me my deposit back? Not on the likely." She complained.

Xander took off his shirt and put it around her shoulders.

"Thanks." She smiled at him.

A lightbulb went on in Tara's head. "Wait a second, you got that at Partytown?" she asked Cordelia.

"Yeah, so?"

"I got mine there too. They all got theirs at that other place, I think they said it was new. Maybe that's the connection." Tara thought. "Okay, we need Giles. I'll go get him, you stay here and um, keep them here. If something comes, she'll fight it off." She nodded at Willow.

"Willow's going to fight it off?" Cordelia said in disbelief. "Why not Buffy?"

"Who?" 'Xena' asked.

Buffy's comment showed why not her. "I-it's not our place to fight. Uh, surely some men will protect us."

'Xena' strode over to her. "Do I look like I need a man to protect me?"

"What is going on?" Cordelia asked again, even more confused.

"They don't know who they are. They think they are who they look like. He's a soldier, and she's from 1775, and she's Xena."

"I should go with you Gabrielle. No telling what kind of trouble you'll get into out there, especially acting as strangely as you are." 'Xena' said.

"No, I can take care of myself. Um, you made sure of that, remember?" she hoped this Xena had in fact taught Gabrielle how to fight. She was starting to fight in the series, but Tara had no idea how similar the series was to what this Xena knew. "And they need you more."

'Xena' didn't look happy, but she acquiesced. "All right, my bard, we both know you're the brains of this operation." To Tara's surprise, she pulled her close and kissed her passionately. She kissed back, wondering if her friends would remember this in the morning.

"What the hell?" she heard Cordelia say behind her. She ignored the prissy girl.

"Stay safe." 'Xena' whispered.

"I will." With that Tara left.

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The next day at school, things were normal for Sunnydale. The other students were completely ignoring the events of the night before. The Scooby gang sat outside for lunch.

"So, Buffy, you talked to Angel last night right?" Willow opened up her sandwich.

Buffy nodded with a smile. "Yup. Turns out he likes 20th century me better than the girls from back then."

"Ooh, that's good. Cuz, I kinda like 20th century you better too." Xander said. "Better at saving our butts that way."

"Oh I dunno, Will was doing a pretty good job of that, didn't you think?"

"It was kinda fun being kick-butt girl for once. But I could live without doing those flips again." She looked green just at the thought.

"And I guess you win the bet about whether Xena and Gabrielle are more than friends." Buffy admitted to her cousin.

Tara blushed. "Uh, yeah, I always told you they were!"

"Wait though, Tara you were still you, wasn't that weird? Willow kissing you?"

Tara and Willow shared an inside look. "I uh, I h-had to make sure she believed I was Gabrielle so she'd listen to me."

"Wow, really taking one for the team there Tare. Hey anytime you guys think that'll help beat the bad guys fell free to do it again." Xander grinned.

Willow and Tara just giggled, and Buffy threw a French fry at him. "Boys."


	5. She's my girlfriend

"Open your eyes." A soft voice floated into Willow's consciousness.

Willow opened her eyes. "I did it! I really did it!" she squealed quietly, trying to keep the floating pencil in the air. After a moment she squinted and slowly lowered it to the bed.

She turned to her girlfriend. "Was that good?" It was the first actual use of magic Tara had let her do. The past few weeks Willow had been reading books and Tara had been explaining the basics of Wicca to her, but she had insisted that she have a good background before doing any spells.

Tara grinned. "You did great. And on your first try too, you have a natural ability."

Willow's eyes lit up. "Really? You think so?"

Tara nodded. "You remind me of my mother." She said wistfully.

The redhead squeezed Tara's hand comfortingly. "You must miss her a lot." She said softly.

Tara blinked away the tears. "She's in a better place. Much better than my father's house, that's for sure." She looked down.

"Did he hurt her too?"

The blonde witch just nodded, unable to meet her girlfriend's eyes. "He hated the magic. He said we were part demons, with all of the magic. My mom always said it was a lie, and that the magic was good. But sometimes…when he was hurting her, and she was crying…I'd wish that I knew bad magic to hurt him back. And then I'd wonder if maybe he wasn't right about the demon."

"Tara, of course he wasn't. You were a little girl, watching your mother get hurt, of course you wanted to protect her. There's nothing evil about you, honey, you're about the least demon-like person I've ever met. And I've met demons!"

Tara smiled despite herself.

"Besides, Joyce and Buffy would be part demon too right? And we know they aren't. Hey how come your mom was a witch but Joyce isn't?"

"Oh, she didn't start learning until she was in college. She said the one time she tried to talk to Aunt Joyce about it she thought she was going crazy, so she didn't mention it again. When she died…I was so afraid I'd never have anyone to share the magic with again." She looked down. "I almost put a curse on him when he started hurting me more. I don't know how she did it."

"You were so brave to get out, and I know she would have been proud of you. You told a teacher, right?" Willow probed delicately. They hadn't really talked about the specifics of Tara's abuse or escape from it.

"My English teacher, Ms. Thomas. It…it got worse after my mom died. And with her gone, it was just me. I could never have left her. So then one day I…well it was stupid really, I never should have checked out that book, I should have just read it in the library…"

"What book?"

"It was called _I Think I Might be Gay_." Tara said with a blush. "It was sort of a collection of stories, of kids who were confused about themselves. Like I was. And…he found it."

"Oh god, Tara."

"Yeah. I mean, I wasn't even sure, you know? But he didn't care. He started hitting me, calling me these h-horrible names.."

"You don't have to tell me." Willow said gently.

"No, I-I want to. He, he told me that lesbians were bad, they were evil, and God hated them. And then he said that it was stupid anyway, because two women could never really have s-sex. He said…he'd show me why you need a man to have sex." Tears were streaming freely down her face, releasing all of the pain of that day.

"Oh baby, did he…"

She shook her head. "He was starting to undo his belt, but then Donnie came home, and he stopped. N-not with the hitting, Donnie just joined in with that. But at least he didn't…do anything else."

"So you told your teacher the next day?"

"Yes. I think she suspected, anyway. I was still hurting pretty badly, though I was trying to hide it, and I sort of hung back after class, trying to get up the nerve to tell her. She asked if I was okay, and it all just sort of came pouring out. She believed me right away, and before I knew it I was here."

Willow settled herself against the pillows on the bed, and patted the space next to her. Tara looked slightly confused.

"Come here, you look like you need a nice long hug."

Tara smiled and gingerly settled herself next to her girlfriend. Willow was having none of that, and she pulled the blonde close, wrapping her arm around her and settling Tara's head on her slender shoulder.

"Better?"

"Thank you." Tara whispered, snuggling close. "Thank you, for listening. I think I needed to get that out. I mean, I told Ms. Thomas some of it, and I told the social worker, but it's different somehow."

"Anytime you need me, I'll be here." She stroked her girl's silky hair, calming her even more with her touch. They stayed like that for a long time, just being close.

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"You girls ready to head home?" Buffy walked up to Willow and Tara, who were standing next to Tara's locker.

"Oh, um, I have to talk to Mrs. Taylor. You go on." Tara said.

"Nah, we'll wait for you in the library." Buffy offered.

"Are you sure? It might be a while."

"I think we can handle being in the library for a few minutes. Go on, come find us when you're done." Willow grabbed her girlfriend's hand briefly and squeezed as she let go.

"Okay. See you soon." Tara said with a shy smile that was directed more at Willow than Buffy, but her cousin didn't notice.

Tara headed off to find her teacher and Buffy and Willow in the other direction towards the library.

"Hey, so didn't I see you talking to that guy from the career fair again? I've seen you talking to him a couple times lately. I think I need some serious best friend details!" Buffy gave her best friend a wink and a grin and bumped her with her hip.

Willow looked down with a slight frown. "Oh, Oz? I was just talking to him. He did push me out of the way when those bullets started flying."

"He looked really into you." Buffy kept prodding.

"No, I'm sure he wasn't."

"Why not? Will, you're a great girl. I know that, Xander knows that, Tara knows that. Why such a surprise that a guy noticed it too?"

Willow sighed as they reached the library and entered. It was empty.

"Buffy, Xander is a guy." She tried to change the subject with humor.

"Well yeah but I meant…oh, is that the problem? You're still in love with Xander so you can't let yourself like another guy?"

Willow sighed again. She had figured she could put this off for a while longer but apparently she wasn't going to be able to.

"No, that's not exactly the problem, but it sort of is. I mean, not about Xander, but about liking the guy, no I mean I don't like Oz, did it sound like I did? But I am in love with someone and that's probably why I don't like him, well that and maybe some other details but I'm not so sure on that yet…"

"Willow. Breathe." Buffy interrupted her. "You're in love with someone? A not-Xander someone? How did I miss this? You're supposed to tell me these things!" she said indignantly.

Willow closed her eyes. "I was afraid to." She admitted quietly.

"What? Why afraid? You're my best friend, nothing can change that!"

"It's Tara." Willow said quickly before she could change her mind.

Buffy turned around and looked at the door. "Huh? No, nobody's here. And anyway your eyes are closed. Why are your eyes closed?"

Willow opened her eyes. "I mean the person. Who I'm in love with. It's Tara." She repeated, more confidently now.

Buffy sat still in her chair for what seemed like an eon to the redhead, who was watching her friend intently.

"Oh."

Willow tried to smile but it didn't work very well.

"So…you don't like Oz because you're…you're…"

"Gay?" Willow said softly.

Buffy looked down at her hands. "Are you?"

"I don't know. That was the other detail I wasn't sure on yet." She laughed nervously. "But it's kinda not important anyway since I'm with Tara."

Buffy's head snapped back up. "Wait, with? I thought you just said you were in love with her."

"I am. Oh, but um, we haven't really said it to each other yet so please don't tell her. But we're well, dating, I guess. Together. She's my girlfriend." Now that she'd said it out loud she couldn't stop. Her face split into a grin when she said the word girlfriend.

Buffy saw the happy look on her best friend's face and it shook her out of the funk she was in. Willow was happy, that was what was important.

"So let me get this straight missy." She stood up and put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "You're dating someone, for the first time ever I might add, and you don't tell your best friend about it?"

Willow couldn't tell if Buffy was teasing or really mad. "Um well it was said best friend's female cousin so I was just a little bit not sure about how to tell her." She paused. "Are you freaked?"  
Buffy took pity on her friend, realizing how hard of a time this must have been for her. "No, Will, I'm not freaked. Well okay maybe I was for a teeny tiny second there but definitely no. I just wish you had told me sooner, but I can understand why you didn't. Speaking of that, how long exactly have you been putting off telling me this?"

Willow blushed. "Uh, about six weeks."

Buffy blinked. "Six weeks? She's only been here for what, two months?"

Willow nodded. They were interrupted by the door to the library opening.

Tara walked in. "Hi." She waved a little bit at her friends. "Sorry it took me so long." She looked between her cousin and her girlfriend. "What's going on, you look strange."

Willow jumped up and rushed over to hug her girlfriend. "I told Buffy." She said proudly.

Tara raised her eyebrows. "Told her…told her that?" she said, emphasizing the word that.

Willow nodded triumphantly.

"I'm happy for you guys." Buffy put in. "Kinda surprised but happy. Nobody else knows, right?"

"Nope. Just you. But I think we can tell the rest soon." Willow was so happy she planted a brief kiss on Tara's lips. "Ready to head home?"

Buffy was temporarily taken aback by that sight but pushed it out of her mind, telling herself that if Willow could deal with her kissing a vampire, she could deal with Willow kissing a girl.

Tara caught Buffy's look at their kiss but she also saw her face relax and decided her cousin really was okay with them. She reached down and took Willow's hand. "Ready if you are."

Something clicked in Buffy's mind.

"Hey, so at Halloween, that wasn't cuz of Xena?"

"Oh, no it was totally all Xena, at least my part. It just uh, wasn't so weird for Tara as you guys thought." she grinned.


End file.
